Published 9:38 pm, Thursday, February 28, 2013

Silberman never kicked anything more than a soccer ball in an organized game and she just started practicing long-range field goals.

Even so, the first female kicker scheduled to try out at an NFL regional scouting combine would like to see where her new hobby will take her. In an era where Danica Patrick can contend against men in motor sports, Silberman is about to take a big kick forward for female athletes, even if the odds are clearly stacked against her. The 28-year-old Silberman will kick Sunday at the New York Jets' training facility in Florham Park, N.J.

"I realize that I may not make an NFL team this year," Silberman told NFL.com. "But for me, I'm expecting to have fun, to meet really interesting people and hopefully perfect my technique from the other tremendous kickers that will be in attendance."

Her goal for the weekend is a true long shot: perfect 60-yard field goals.

Odds are, though, that scouts will want to see her connect on extra points and chip-shot field goals with consistency before moving on to the heavy kicking.

Silberman will compete against more accomplished or polished college kickers, all hoping to prove they have the leg strength and accuracy worthy of earning an invite to an NFL training camp. St. Louis Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein participated in a regional combine last year before he was drafted and morphed into "Legatron."

Cincinnati Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons said teams look for several things specifically when judging kickers in these situations. The most important is leg strength, followed by accuracy on field goals over 40 yards, and how they did on clutch kicks in college. "When rating field goals, the deepest we test at the combine is a 50-yard field goal. There's not many attempts over 55 yards," Simmons said.

Silberman won't be kicking against the best of the sure-footed prospects, but there will be talent on hand regardless. The regional combines debuted in 2011, and feature players who weren't among the 333 invited to the main combine in Indianapolis.

Silberman, whose NFL.com bio listed her as a former club soccer player at Wisconsin, seems to understand what she's up against. More likely, she wanted to use the weekend as an opportunity to promote greater diversity in football.

"It would be a great opportunity to attract more women to the sport," she said. "Hopefully, I'll have a good line that won't let anyone through to tackle me."